Asymmetric electron distributions in the solar wind

Abstract

A plausible mechanism responsible for producing asymmetric electron velocity distribution functions in the solar wind is investigated by means of one-dimensional electrostatic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. A recent paper suggests that the variation in the ion-to-electron temperature ratio influences the nonlinear wave-particle dynamics such that it results in the formation of asymmetric distributions. The present PIC code simulation largely confirms this finding, but quantitative differences between the weak turbulence formalism and the present PIC simulation are also found, suggesting the limitation of the analytical method. The inter-relationship between the asymmetric electron distribution and the ion-to-electron temperature ratio may be a new useful concept for the observation. © 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.